Surprise school offering new arts academy

Dysart Arts Academy at Desert Moon Elementary

When students in the Dysart Unified School District head back to class Monday, 140 middle-school students will take classes at a new arts academy, the district's second specialized school.

Meanwhile, four elementary schools in the school district will have new principals this year.

The Dysart Arts Academy is a school within a school that intertwines core curriculum with performing and fine arts. The program is at Desert Moon Elementary School, which is near 163rd Avenue and Pat Tillman Boulevard and has 403 students total.

Specialized schools are part of the district's effort to compete with charter and private schools and offer parents diverse educational options for students.

In the 2011-12 school year, the district launched Cambridge Checkpoint Preparatory Academy, an advanced academic program for sixth- through eight-graders, at Marley Park Elementary School.

"We understand that our community is very interested in choice for the students, particularly for pre-secondary age groups," said Cyndi Miller, assistant superintendent of the district.

Parents are interested in a school that provides more than the usual band or theater activities already in schools, Miller said. That's what spurred Dysart to launch the academy, she said.

"There will be programs at the academy that aren't elsewhere, such as a string (instruments) program and a formal dance program," Miller said.

Diana Hawari, a parent and Surprise resident, enrolled her seventh-grade daughter in the program to promote creativity.

"She writes her own songs, makes home videos and scripts, and she plays the clarinet. On the academic side she has been on honor roll for three years," Hawari said of her daughter. The seventh-grader previously attended Ashton Ranch Elementary School.

Aside from its music, band, theater and dance courses, the school also will offer creative writing, graphic design and other digital arts programs, Miller said.

Core subjects, including math, reading, writing and science, will be integrated with the school's fine-arts themes.

"When my colleague is teaching about the Civil War or Revolutionary War, we'll be reading something related to that in my classroom," said Sandy Hays, a language arts teacher at the new academy. "We can look at Civil War music, speeches from that time or dances of the era."

Hays is one of 14 teachers who will teach fifth- through eighth-grade students at Dysart Arts Academy.

New principals

The school year also will bring new school leaders to Mountain View, Thompson Ranch, Luke and Surprise elementary schools. The governing board appointed current district employees as new principals at all four schools. They are:

Gail Miller, principal of Mountain View Elementary, was hired by the district in 2003. She will oversee 61 teachers and 1,214 students.

Veronica Vasquez-Robles, principal of Thompson Ranch Elementary, has worked for the district since 2004. She will oversee 53 teachers and 916 students.

Kathy Hill, principal of Luke Elementary, was hired by Dysart in 2006. She will oversee 46 teachers and 778 students.

Karie Burns, principal of Surprise Elementary, was hired by the district in 2010. She will oversee 51 teachers and 884 students.